After weather concerns emerged on Saturday, a late decision was made to move from the Vale Castle, where it was feared that strong winds would make staging and scaffolding dangerous.
Organisers secured the support of four pubs and Beau Sejour to effectively restage the various festival stages at different venues.
Organisers were delighted at how many people showed up for the new-style event throughout the day.
‘It was amazing, all our venues in town and up at Beau Sejour were packed all day. It was absolutely incredible,’ said Rob Roussel, the fair’s lead organiser.
A further problem emerged on Sunday when the festival’s headline act, The Orb, had to cancel on the actual day of the event.
‘We first realised there was a problem at around two in the afternoon, but it was actually confirmed at 3pm,’ said Mr Roussel.
‘It was a combination of different issues, but essentially their travel was disrupted.’
But the day was saved when local DJ Paul Lorraine stepped in at the last minute to take their place.
‘He’s been living in Barcelona now for a number of years, but he played at the fair back in the late 90s, and asked to come back for this year’s because it’s our 50th anniversary,’ Mr Roussel explained.
‘He was brilliant, we were so chuffed to have him.’
The headline stage was then given an even bigger boost by the fact that The Orb’s videographer had managed to make it over to the island after making separate travel arrangements.
‘It was amazing we still got to have those visuals. It was absolutely brilliant.’
Despite the chaos of the past few days, the Vale Earth Fair Collective will have no time for rest in the immediate aftermath.
‘We’ve got to clean up all the venues we used, re-stock the bars and also dismantle all that’s still up at the castle,’ said Mr Roussel.
‘That will take about three days for us to do.’
‘I’m just so grateful to everyone who's helped to put on the fair this year and all the incredible support we’ve had from the public,’ he added.
‘I think all this has really gone to show just how incredibly strong the community spirit is in Guernsey.’
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